


make it out like it's no big deal

by Navyrants



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/F, POV Second Person, not a lot to say here just smth short n sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navyrants/pseuds/Navyrants
Summary: Makoto remembers a pretty face when she sees one, and similarly, Haru knows a lie when she hears it.
Relationships: Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	make it out like it's no big deal

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in may after only watching p5 through once don't @ me about inconsistencies or plot holes just Enjoy It

As much as all the Thieves hated it, there was a lot of downtime for you while Akira was in prison. You all spent as much time as possible campaigning for his release, of course, but there was only so much you could do, and the rest was simply up to fate.

Fate in itself was a notion none of you felt very amicable towards. You’d spent all this time working to change the fate of the world itself and now you simply had to sit back on your heels and wait? It was the most difficult thing any of you had ever done.

And you’d fought a  _ god. _

There were a few things to be done for it, though. Namely, you could preoccupy each other with whatever trivial tasks you had--even ones that could be easily accomplished alone--just for the sake of company and staving off madness.

At this particular moment, you and Makoto are taking the opportunity to visit a variety of cafes, for no purpose other than to sample the coffee. Well, that, and you’ve had a question in the back of your mind for the past several months. Nothing pressing, nothing that couldn’t wait, but when waiting is all you have… you’re a little sick of it.

The third cafe, the third cup of coffee, and the  _ ta-ta-tap _ of the Queen’s fingers on the table is starting to clue her in that this might not be the smartest venture, but she’s there nonetheless and it seems she won’t be taking her leave before you’ve decided you’re done for the day. The jitters do make her jump a bit, however, when you gently clear your throat to catch her attention.

“May I ask you something, Mako-chan?” You put on a wide, innocent look, maybe just slightly exaggerated, and the stuco president blinks a moment before nodding her assent. “It’s just a simple curiosity, but--how  _ did _ you find my identity so quickly? Back then?” It’s been nagging at you for most of this time, considering you’d done your best to hide your identity at school. Of course, the jig was up once everything happened with your father, but that didn’t explain how Makoto had found you within the day after you’d met.

It’s a simple question, but to your surprise, Makoto clams up. The reaction is subtle, a pause in her tapping and a shift in her crossed legs, but the two of you know each other well enough by now that you can each tell when the other is lying, and Makoto is about to do so, right through her teeth.

“It was just a matter of looking through school photos, that’s all. With four of us working together, it hardly took any time at all.” She even manages to meet your eyes, though her gaze wavers just enough for you to be sure you’re being deceived.  _ Interesting. _ You each raise your cups to your lips, breaking eye contact in favor of the rich, bitter flavors of the coffee.

Something worth poking into, you think.

You ask Ryuji about it later. He gives much the same answer, though with a much more honest lilt to it. 

(And a fair bit more complaining about the bore of it all.)

_ Interesting, indeed. _

A confrontation, then, can only be made to mirror the one being called into question. Which is to say, you spring it on Makoto while the two of you are working on the school’s small gardens dotted around campus, at your behest. 

At the moment, Makoto is sitting on the ledge of one of the small plots, taking a break after hauling her half of the fertilizer mix off the handcart. You don't  _ need _ the help, technically speaking, but your friends are always quick to offer and you find it difficult to say no.

Especially when it’s Mako-chan.

Shaking that thought from your head, you pick up a bottle of water to bring to the taller girl, an excuse to prolong your break for a quick interrogation. You hand it over, settling down on the stonework beside your friend, and let her take a long drink before asking your first question.

“Why did you lie to me, Mako-chan?” She chokes  _ hard _ , and you wonder if this has actually been weighing on her in the few days since that conversation. It takes her several moments to regain some semblance of composure, even with your comforting hand rubbing circles on her back, but finally she wheezes past the water that snuck down her windpipe.

“Wha--er, what did I lie about, exactly?” You give a soft smile in response to the alarmed look on her face.

“About how you knew me, of course.” Her face twitches--another tell--and she looks about to protest, but you cut in. “Oh, I’m certain you were telling the truth about looking through the photos, I just don’t think that’s how you knew me.”

She’s a deer in your headlights.

The two of you stare at each other for a long, long moment before she finally groans in defeat and buries her head in her hands.

“Can you promise me you won’t be mad?” You’re a tad confused as to what she could have possibly done that would make you upset, considering your shared past at this point, but you agree anyways. “I, er... suppose you don’t remember it, but we bumped into each other in the hall. Last year.”  _ Blink. _

“Last  _ year? _ But how did you...Surely I would remember if I introduced myself.” She shakes her head.

“You didn’t. I…” A hand rubs across the bridge of her nose. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you for some reason, so I may have used a connection or two to track you down…” Her voice gradually gets quieter until she trails off at the end. This is the most sheepish you’ve ever seen her, doubled over in embarrassment, face covered, the only hint of her scarlet blush being the tips of her ears. The corners of your mouth start twitching, but you make a valiant effort to spare her pride.

Still, you don’t trust yourself to speak without giggling yet, so you simply continue to rub soothing circles on her back. Another long few moments and she’s comfortable enough to peek up at you worriedly.

“You don’t think it’s creepy, do you?” You can’t help the small laugh that escapes you at that, but you smile warmly so she knows you’re not laughing at her.

“Not at all. If anything, I think it’s sweet that you had a crush on me.” She lets out a shaky breath.

“Thank goodness. I was so--excuse me?” The way her body relaxes nearly in full before she stiffens and her head whips around is outright comical in nature. Cartoonish, even. She sputters in defense, scrambling for a counterargument, but only manages: “It was  _ not _ a crush.”

You giggle and pat her upper back before standing, an unspoken  _ sure it wasn’t _ settling between you as you move to open one of the bags of fertilizer.

The feeling of knowing you caught Makoto’s attention so freely without even trying will stick by you for weeks. You wonder what you could do to her with some  _ proper _ effort...


End file.
